REVIEW: Head of the Family

I have a short form review which reads thus: Insane. I knew that going into this film, and I certainly felt it after viewing. But being economical with words doesn’t fully explain WHY the film is quite so cock-a-hoop. Plus, it kinda makes it sound like I didn’t enjoy it, which couldn’t be further from the truth. So, let’s descend into madness, and try to wrap our heads around Head of the Family. Trust me. You’ll need your head shrunk after this one.

The film opens with a typical suburban scene: nice house, picket fence, yada yada. But the score from Richard Band, hitting it’s wonky notes, let’s us in on the pictures off kilter stance from the get go. We’re introduced to Lance, proprietor of the local diner/grocery store, Howard the town’s resident ruffian and Loretta, his long suffering missus. Fed up of his bad boy antics, Loretta finds solace in the arms of the local shopkeeper, and asks him to hatch a plan to off her thuggish spouse. Unwilling to incriminate himself, or get his hands dirty, Lance enlists the helps of the Stackpooles, a family of unidentical quadruplets who would fit in quite well at Professor Xavier’s X-mansion. There’s the sensitive, slow-witted strong man Otis, Wheeler with his highly attuned senses and Ernestina with her incredibly enhanced *ahem* assets. Leading them all, much like the aforementioned academic, is Myron, a man with a superior intellect and a telepathic control over the rest of his kin. The figurative and literal head of the family. Seriously. He’s a giant head on a tiny body in a wheelchair. Like a motorized Egg-fu. In an impressive use of prosthetics and forced perspective from director Charles Band (under the pseudonym Robert Talbot. For some reason), he really is a sight to behold. He’s also the basis for 99.9% of the movies pun-based jokes. How they came up with quite so many, well, it’s a bit of a head scratcher.

Uncovering nefarious happenings that occur within their abode, Lance blackmails the unit into offing his love rival, and throws in a spot of extortion for good measure. This, of course, does not go down too well with the siblings, who decide to use their combined talents to put the kibosh on the proprietor bleeding them dry. Things finally come to a head *fnarr* with a botched execution disguised as an am-dram presentation of Joan of Arc. Because, why not? It’s one of the few moments in the production that actually DOESN’T defy reason or logic.

Although story driven, in it’s off the wall and bizarre way, the exposition has a tendency to meander at a snail’s pace. Often becoming overly convoluted with nothingness, which allows us time to disengage with the narrative. It’s a shame, as the movie has the makings of a cult classic. For all the mutant families, yokel residents and soft core sensibilities, it’s just not cheesy or campy enough. The scripts often over-reliance on cranium based word-play can, at times, become slightly irksome. Does it do your head in? You tell me. No need to bite my head off.

It’s the strength of performance that really makes this film shine. J.W Perra and Blake Adams, Myron and Lance respectively, work particularly well together, bouncing off each other (not literally) in an attempt to outwit their adversary. Theirs are the scenes which are distinctly pun-tastic, but once you ease into it and meet it head-on, you figure that two heads definitely work better than one. Head and shoulders *chortle* above the rest is Jacqueline Lovell, as manipulative white trash Loretta, who for all her scheming, is the unexpected hero of the piece. Proving that she’s more than talking tits and a muff, her hilarious portrayal as the Maid of Orléans, and her maneuver into a position of power, are satisfying indeed in a world that’s flipped it’s noodle. There are a few guffaws at some of the lines, hidden behind smirks and hands of the cast, but really, that just adds to the movies charm. It’s like we’re all in on one giant lark. Although, what that may be? Well, it’s all a little over my head. *Wink*

Inventive, impressive, enjoyable and slow, are a few words that I know. Conveniently, they all apply to this film. If you can get beyond the fact that there is ONE JOKE throughout its 82 minute run time, and continuous head-puns don’t set your teeth on edge, then Head of the Family is an entertaining spiral down the rabbit hole. However, if you’ve found my constant bonce-based references more than irritating, it might not be the flick for you. But for a bonkers feature about a brainiac in a bumpkin bayou? It hits the nail on the head.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Slaughtered Bird Films’ BURN receives its first reviews!

Slaughtered Bird Films and Dragon Egg Media’s debut film collaboration, Burn, has received its first couple of online reviews, after a preview screening at the Triple Six Horror Festival in Manchester, May 27th.
Read on...

INTERVIEW: David Naughton

It’s not every day you get to speak to the lead actor in possibly your favourite horror film of all time. Especially on a Tuesday. Tuesdays are usually rubbish!
David Naughton should need no introduction to horror fans. Back in 1981, An American Werewolf In London had unprepared cinema goers laughing heartily one second and jumping out of their seats in terror the next. Its tale of two young American tourists coming face-to-teeth with a legendary lycanthropic beast perfectly married a genuinely funny script with razor sharp editing, groundbreaking special effects and a flawless cast to create a monster movie that is still many people’s benchmark today
Read on...

Advertise HERE!

We currently have advertising space available at very reasonable rates, so if you have a product you want to let people know about then please email us at theslaughteredbird@gmail.com with your needs and we can give you more info.
Read on...

- By Kriss Pickering
Do you know, as I’ve got older, I have really developed a taste for short films by the star directors of tomorrow. I have really started to appreciate the love and attention that goes into what is usually a passion project for the writers/directors, and they usually reek of originality that many of today's features sadly lack.

- By MovieCritic NextDoor
Somewhere in Budapest, there's a mysterious basement, though 'basement' seems too tame a word for something that spreads out for blocks and is filled with twisting hallways, dead ends, and doors that unlock only when they feel like it. The basement is private property and difficult to find, but rumors of its existence are everywhere, attracting ghost hunters and thrill seekers from all over the world.

- By Dave Dubrow
There’s an old joke that goes something like, “If God can do anything, can He create a rock so heavy that even He couldn’t lift it?” Adapted to the cinema, the question becomes, “Can you make a slasher flick so bad that even Dee Wallace couldn’t save it?

- By Chris Barnes
To coincide with the pleasantly-surprising, intense found footage flick THE TRIANGLE's UK release (reviewed right HERE), I was lucky enough to catch up with one of the 5 main men behind its creation, ADAM STILWELL.
Adam!

- By Mikel Iriarte
Ahead of it's UK release this coming Monday, July 10th, we had the pleasure of spending some time with BED OF THE DEAD star ALYSA KING.
We'd previously met Alysa at Shriekfest Film Festival back in 2014 where she was promoting her latest film, Berkshire County, so it was lovely to have a catch-up and hear all about her latest bloodsoaked offering...

Following on from Stephen Harper's complimentary review of wacky action romp KARATE KILL (out this month on DVD and Blu-ray), we chatted to star Ben Dukes for The Slaughtered Bird.
How did you get involved in Karate Kill?

“I’m telling you that ‘thing’ upstairs isn’t my daughter…”
Forty-five years after William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel terrified an entire generation, The Exorcist will be unleashed onto the West End stage for the very first time in a uniquely theatrical experience directed by Sean Mathias and adapted for the stage by John Pielmeier.

Award-winning indie hit EGOMANIAC will be having its Video on Demand release on August 15th in the UK, USA and Canada. The second feature film by writer-director Kate Shenton (Screen International Rising Horror Star nominee) will be available to rent and buy on iTunes.

A message from the London Horror Festival:
We are pleased to inform you that submissions are open to UK based playwrights for the London Horror Festival Playwriting Competition, in association with the Old Red Lion Theatre.